First ascent of Highlander, ~8C, after 13 years by Martin Keller

Martin Keller has finally made the first ascent of what has to be one of the longest standing projects in bouldering history. His Highlander-project at the Sustenpass in Switzerland.

Martin says he started dreaming about climbing this line already when he visited the area for the first time thirteen years ago. Since then, he has climbed lots a short and long term projects, but the end goal always remained to some day be able to climb the Highlander.

Highlander is around 30 moves long and climbs diagonally through a steep wall finishing with La reve de faire, an ~8B in its own right.

It's been a long and many times up hill struggle in more than one sense, and Martin has had to bounce back from two serious injuries after already being very close to success on several occasions.

Now he has finally done it and can, as he puts it himself, retire from climbing and play chess.

As is so often the case when someone has worked something for such a long time, Martin has a hard time finding it meaningful to attach a simple number to his creation, but needless to say it is, for him, the hardest problem he has ever climbed. This says a lot as he has repeated and put up problems as hard as ~8C.